WEVV Evansville Sues DISH over prorating retransmission fee payments

[osu1991]

http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/88040/wevv-evansville-sues-dish-over-retrans

The owner of the Evansville, Ind., CBS affiliate, DuJuan McCoy, files a lawsuit alleging the satellite operator, by prorating retrans payments, is depriving him of "significant revenues."

 

[ChadT41]

I read this as someone trying to pull one of Charlie's tricks against him. I also do not see merit to the case with the given information, but also that there is a lot of information left out.

 

[Tampa8]

I'm not getting what period of time is being prorated even after reading several accounts. To prorate something would mean you get paid less because a service was not given or maybe less of a service. Could it include time the station was not on the air?

 

[Voyager6]

Evidently this station, WEVV, has a history with Dish.
In 2011: http://www.courierpress.com/entertainment/no-headline-ev_foxcontract

Some 104 days after Fox44 first went on the air, Dish Network customers in the Tri-State will be able to watch their favorite Fox programming once again, and it may happen as soon as Thursday afternoon.

Communications Corp. of America (ComCorp), the parent company of WEVV, and Dish Network have reached a new carriage agreement, which means that Fox44 will be added on channel 45 for Dish satellite subscribers.

The agreement comes after a months-long stalemate between the two companies which saw WEVV mount a campaign to inform its viewers of other cable and satellite choices, while Dish Network took to social media to claim that ComCorp wanted a 325 percent increase in carriage fees over what Dish had paid WTVW, the former Fox affiliate.

In 2015, after new ownership: http://www.courierpress.com/business/local/wevvdish-dispute-leaves-customers-frustrated_31787624

When Patricia Fisher of Boonville went searching for the NFL playoff game schedule last weekend, she found nothing but disappointment.

Fisher is a DISH Network customer. As she scrolled through Sunday’s programming schedule, she found she was blocked from receiving both Fox and CBS.

Since NFL games air on Fox and CBS, Fisher, an Indianapolis Colts fan, missed the Indianapolis Colts/Denver Broncos game. Friends kept her updated on the score via Facebook, but it wasn’t the same.

“On the weekends, that’s my thing. I want to watch the football games,” Fisher said.

“I’m really disappointed.”

Fisher and other DISH customers have been unable to receive WEVV TV programming for the past week because of a business dispute between the Evansville station and the satellite television provider. WEVV is the Evansville affiliate for both CBS and Fox.

At issue is the retransmission agreement between the two parties.

According to Federal Communications Commission rules, a cable system or satellite provider must have consent from a television station to carry the station’s signal. Typically, the cable system or satellite provider pays what is known as a retransmission fee to the station in exchange as part of this agreement.

Once an agreement expires, the cable system or satellite provider must stop offering the station’s programming unless the two parties decide to extend the current agreement while they negotiate a new deal.

Deal reached in Feb 2015: http://www.courierpress.com/news/lo...v-stations-reach-retransmission-deal_42709233

DISH Network announced Monday that it reached a multiyear deal with Bayou City Broadcasting, the owner of a local Evansville station.

Terms were not disclosed Monday night.

The agreement means WEVV, which has channels for Evansville's CBS and Fox affiliates, will again be available to DISH subscribers.

DISH and Bayou City had been in a stalemate since early January, when the two parties couldn't reach a retransmission agreement.

 

[Hall]

Sounds like a contract agreement date was made retroactive (to Jan 7, according to TV News Check story) but the channel was off of Dish into February and the station feels entitled to ~1 month of time when they were off the air.

 

[Tampa8]

Exactly what I was getting at. Depends on what the contract says perhaps DISH signed and has agreed to something they did not mean to. Otherwise the local should take their signal and......

 

[dare2be]

They need to take this to arbitration.